


Quiet streams

by TwurtleEggy



Series: Ori, but a little to the left [4]
Category: Ori and the Blind Forest
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Gen, Picnics, Picnics being a tag is the good stuff, The Spirit Tree is mentioned a lot but he's not there
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-14
Updated: 2020-04-14
Packaged: 2021-03-02 02:20:53
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,356
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23627593
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TwurtleEggy/pseuds/TwurtleEggy
Summary: Sein just wants to have one peaceful day with their friend.
Relationships: Naru & Gumo (Ori and the Blind Forest), Ori & Gumo (Ori and the Blind Forest), Ori & Naru (Ori and the Blind Forest), Ori & Sein (Ori and the Blind Forest)
Series: Ori, but a little to the left [4]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1709002
Comments: 3
Kudos: 39





	Quiet streams

**Author's Note:**

> Local oblivious fool invites sentient bouncy ball to his family picnic, said sentient bouncy ball gets interrogated by the fool's mother. More at eleven.

The Sunken Glades were a peaceful place; if nothing else, Ori was at least sure of this. There was an odd sort of quiet to it, a feeling that, no matter what, there was at least one place he could find some amount of respite from the perils of his journey. Unfortunately for him, a certain someone seemed to want to bring noise to his land of quiet.

"Ori, we need to hurry!" Sein said for probably the millionth time that day. "We can't wait forever!"

Ori ignored them. Now that he had a free moment to look around, he could properly appreciate how beautiful the place was. The abundance of plants wasn't remotely uncommon in Nibel, yet he found that the plants within the glades seemed to be more fragile than anywhere else in the forest. Aside from making the berries easier to pick and eat, Ori liked what it represented. If there was no need for the plant life to be on edge, then there was no need for him to be on edge; this place was safe.

"Seriously Ori, what if something bad happens while we're gone? What then?"

Then they would fix it, he thought. Not that anything bad _was_ going to happen, Sein was just nervous. He walked a little closer to the floating orb, hoping it would calm them down a little.

Speaking of calm, he loved how the glades seemed to practically radiate it. Maybe it was the slight mist that seemed to cling to everything, he thought. It certainly made the place cooler, both literally and figuratively. Unlike the suffocating fogs of the Misty Woods, this felt nice to walk through; thick enough to be a good distraction, but not so thick as to be difficult to maneuver through. 

"You're not listening to me, are you?"

"Of course I'm listening. I'm just not responding."

"What? WHY?"

"I like when you talk. It's nice to know that you're still around."

The orb went silent, which was a bit upsetting but not particularly bad. A bit of quiet would be nice; and besides, he could probably start up a conversation again later. It would probably involve more talking on his part then Sein trying to get his attention had, but it would still be nice.

The two continued to travel along their path, Swallow's Nest on the horizon. Ori's stomach rumbled slightly, reminding him that he hadn't eaten lunch yet. But that was okay, seeing as where they were going. However, Sein looked to him with what he guessed was meant to be concern. "I _told_ you we should have used a spirit well."

"Sein, there's not a spirit well at the nest."

"...Oh."

Ori rolled his eyes, continuing to walk. "Even if there was, though, I still would have walked. The scenery is too good to pass up on."

"Ori, you see this view literally every time you come to the Spirit Tree. Which is practically every day."

"So? It's not like it gets any worse each time."

"Alright, but don't you get, I don't know, a little sick of it?"

Ori tilted his head in questioning. "Why would I get sick of it? After all, you did such a good job of fixing it all."

Sein seemed to squirm for a moment. "...Thank you, Ori."

"Any time, Sein."

They reached a staircase that Ori had helped Gumo carve out of a large log recently, and he briefly remembered the time he had spent in the Gumon's secret lair; it felt like so long ago, even though it couldn't have been more than a couple weeks since the blindness had been fully purged. Or had it already been a full month? His time exploring Nibel had been so exciting, settling back into his old routine had been disorienting. 

They soon reached Ori's home in the main part of Swallow's Nest, which looked similar to what it had before their adventure, but with several notable additions. The nest Ori had slept in remained, but there were now several more; one for Gumo, one for Naru, and several that were of a more similar size to Ori's and which were occasionally inhabited by passing Spirit Guardians, or more commonly held Kuro's kids when they were allowed to sleep over. There was also a large cauldron tucked into one corner that Ori and some of his fellow guardians had made, and that was sometimes used by the various inhabitants to make dinners.

They were here for a reason though, and that reason currently sat in Ori's nest. It was a small courier bag made by Naru, which currently held a large amount of pre-picked fruits and nuts in it. Ori grabbed the bag, checked its contents, and carefully slung it over his shoulder, listening for any squashing sounds. When there were none, he happily skipped out of the cave and down another trail, Sein following close behind.

"What's in the bag?"

"Some fruits, some nuts. Gumo and Naru are already down at the spot they picked out with everything else."

"Remind me again why I, the orb with no mouth, got invited to your picnic?"

"Because you're my friend, and you need to socialize more."

"I socialize plenty!" Sein squeaked out with an indignant scoff.

"Sein, me and the Spirit Tree are literally the only two you ever hang out with."

"I have a job!"

"The forest isn't going to crumble to dust overnight just because you go away for a few hours every couple of days. You need a break, and everyone knows it."

Sein huffed, not having any good comebacks. They did need a break, even if they didn't want it. Not to mention the Spirit Tree threatening to get Kuro to baby them if they didn't take a break, and they were promptly joining Ori's little family picnic. Which was a bizarre thought, as they weren't really sure _how_ they fit into the family, at least in everyone else's eyes.

As they approached the chosen point for the picnic, Sein allowed their thoughts to drift out. They needed to focus less on others and more on themself, or at least, that's what Naru said, and she was pretty trustworthy. Not to mention one of the two others that they and Ori were going to join right now, and it wouldn't be the best impression for them to not follow her advice.

Hopping down a small ledge that the path intersected, the two reached the picnic spot. They were in a small clearing, with a quiet stream towards the back. Sat at a small table in the middle-each with a bag of their own next to themselves-were Naru and Gumo. Ori ran over, slamming into his mother with a large hug and a squeal. "Hi mama!"

Naru picked up her son and spun him around in her arms. "Ori, it's only been a few hours, calm down!"

"I still missed you, mama." The little spirit pouted, still hugging his mother. He turned over to the other dark being in the clearing and smiled. "Gumo, I'm not in the wrong for missing my mama, right?"

The last Gumon chuckled. "Hello to you as well, Ori. And hello to you as well, Sein." The orb floated over, happy that they hadn't already been forgotten, bumping into Ori.

"Ah, Sein!" Naru cried, clapping her hands together. "How have you been, dear?"

"I've been fine, thank you Naru. I'm sorry we took so long, Ori was walking too slow."

"Hey!"

Naru giggled while Ori scrambled onto her shoulders and tried to grab Sein, who simply floated out of his incredibly short reach. "Alright you two, stop fighting. Ori, please help me get everything set up. Sein, Gumo, please wait a moment while we set things up." At her insistence, the two took a seat (or the equivalent for Sein) and simply waited while Ori and Naru took out the berries, nuts, some vegetables, and what looked to be a bottle of some sort of strange, glowing blue liquid, which Ori looked at with curiosity.

"Mama, what's this?" Naru looked over at her son, and smiled when she saw the bottle in his hand. 

"Oh, that's for you and Sein. It's liquefied light-I heard that Sein can't eat most normal things, so I asked the Spirit Tree for some help while they were hanging out with you a few days ago. He told me about the spirit wells, and suggested I get some of the liquid light from one. He said you might enjoy it too, so I didn't see any reason not to get some." Sein and Ori were momentarily stunned, surprised that she would go so far out of her way for something so simple. "Oh, don't give me that look! Come on, let's eat." 

Gumo soon did so along with her, and Ori only took a moment to join them. Sein, meanwhile, just floated there for a moment, still processing what Naru had said. She had deliberately gone out of her way _just_ to find out what they could eat? Sure, she had gotten the liquid light for both Ori and them, but that didn't change the original intent-plus, Ori pushing the bottle towards them and practically diving into his berries gave them an idea of who the bottle was probably mostly meant for. It took them a moment, but they eventually managed to regain their voice. "I-thank you so much Naru, you really didn't have to do this."

"Oh, nonsense Sein. Why would I not, when you clearly care so much about my son?" The smirk on her face gave Sein the sudden feeling that her intentions weren't quite as pure as they had initially assumed. However, the topic disappeared as Ori poked his mother, wanting to tell her and Gumo about his and Sein's walk over. 

Looking down to the bottle, they figured that a taste at the least couldn't hurt. Lowering down to the bottle, Sein absorbed a small amount of the light, which floated up and into their form. It was... sweet, they supposed. There wasn't really any word to describe what it was like, but it definitely was a good feeling, so sweet would just have to do.

"Enjoying it?" Sein looked up at the whisper, seeing Naru looking at them. Ori was in some sort of a conversation with Gumo, something about a swing? No, a pulley, probably some lift the Gumon was making down in his lair. 

"Yes, quite. Thank you very much." Naru smiled wide, though Sein had something very particular that they wanted to get off their chest. "Naru?" She looked up, a curious glint in her eyes. "I don't know what you think Ori and I are, but please understand that we're just friends. Close friends, sure, but just that and nothing more." A strange look crossed Naru's face, one Sein had seen once before from Ori. Then, he had been wondering about whether they were telling the truth about something they had said, and it seemed likely that Naru was thinking the same thing now. Before they could worry about what Naru might make of their statement, she let out a small hum.

"Well, you're still part of the family. Whether or not you and Ori are 'something more' as you put it doesn't really matter. So long as he's happy and safe, I'm fine with whatever you two are." If they had a mouth, Sein would have sighed in relief. However, they still had a question.

"If I may ask, what made you think that Ori's relationship with me was like that?"

Naru snorted and smiled. "Sein, name one moment since the forest was cleared of the blindness where you weren't either helping the Spirit Tree, which is your job, or at Ori's side."

"...Alright, fine. But that doesn't mean we're _together,_ it just means I have no friends."

"Besides Ori."

"I'm not a very social creature."

Naru hummed quietly, looking to Gumo and Ori. The two had moved from their previous topic to something about an herb in Swallow's Nest. The Spirit Guardian was talking energetically, swearing that he had seen it somewhere in the Misty Woods. Gumo chuckled, and looked over to Naru and Sein. He winked, then went back to looking at Ori and telling him he didn't believe the guardian. "Perhaps, Sein. But even with that considered, you two have been through quite a lot together. You've achieved incredible things by each other's sides, and I know it's drawn you two together." She chuckled quietly before smirking once again. "Besides, Sein, I'm Ori's mother. I want him to be happy. Now, why don't we drop this, yes?" Sein nodded, and the two turned to the conversation Ori and Gumo were having, quickly joining in once they had the chance.

* * *

It was getting dark out, and the group was walking back to Sparrow's Nest. The food had all been eaten, except for the liquid light bottle, which was slightly less than half full. They talked cheerfully all the way back to the cave, before fading into silence as they realized that one among them would have to leave.

"Thank you for having me over," Sein said. "It was a lot of fun."

Naru giggled with a wave of her hand. "And it was very fun having you over."

Gumo placed the bags down in one of the nests before walking over. "It really was. We should all do this again." Naru hummed and nodded in assent. "Though, I assume Ori is going to take you back to the Spirit Tree?"

The Spirit Guardian came bounding over, clearly still full of energy. "I'd like to, if that's okay." Naru and Gumo turned to Sein.

"That would be nice, thank you very much." Ori let out a small cheer, before the two left the cave together to return Sein to the Spirit Tree.

Once they were well out of sight, Gumo walked over to Naru. "So, what did they say?"

"Apparently, they're just close friends."

"And you're not surprised?"

"I didn't say I believed them."

"Ha, of course not."

**Author's Note:**

> I just think they're cute, okay.


End file.
